The High Court in Accra has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, the outspoken Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Wontumi failed to appear in court on Tuesday, October 28, when his case was called around 9:40 a.m. — and neither he nor his legal team provided any explanation for their absence.
The Chief State Attorney, Stella Ohene Appiah, led the prosecution team, which was present in full. But presiding judge Justice Audrey Kocuvi-Tay expressed frustration over the accused’s failure to show up, stressing that the court had received “no excuse of any sort.”
The day’s proceedings had been scheduled for the filing of disclosures and case management in a case that has attracted national attention.
Chairman Wontumi, along with Kwame Antwi, a director of Akonta Mining Limited, and the company itself, faces charges of assigning mineral rights without lawful authority — a case that has sparked debate over political influence in Ghana’s mining sector.
With the warrant now in effect, the controversial NPP chairman could be arrested at any time to compel his appearance before the court.
